Star Trek: A Collection of Short Stories
by Flerovium
Summary: Follow the adventures of Commander Dzieci Jeden of the Federation Steamrunner class Agnostic Monk. As they go on many adventures, from space dwelling mega fauna to the Maquis. Journeys not even the most seasoned Captains of Starfleet can wish for.


"Ensign Jeden reporting as ordered!" I sharply salute.

"I understand you just graduated top twenty-five percent in the class of '75," says Admiral Cole.

"Yes sir, that is accurate," he gives me a look, "Sir."

"I may be old but the formalities are making me feel much older."

"Sir?"

"Long story short cut the formalities."

"Yes s- I mean sure."

"Now I am aware of the incident last year."

"It was an overreaction."

"Overreaction! You stole the Prometheus!" he scolds, "A very much still experimental ship and you couldn't even operate it! That is no overreaction! Nonetheless you prevented a full Gorn invasion so it is forgivable. Now you were going to start as an ensign on a Constellation class but you have pleased a higher up, Commander. You are to command a brand new Steamrunner class that you are to name."

"Would the Agnostic Monk work?"

"Sure. The ships very name may be an oxymoron but it is accurate," he taps his communicator, "Send in Dord," he motions to the door where a Gorn enters causing me to jump into a defensive position.

"At ease," I look at him like he has completely lost his mind. He points at the chair next to the Gorn "Have a seat officer."

I sit but still keep a heightened alert, "What's he here for?"

"Commander meet your Chief of Security Dord."

"Did you forget what happened just a few months ago?!"

"Dard's actions do not represent the wishes of the Hegemony."

"Oh that, pffsh a random citizen just happened to get a hold of military ships and weapons," I say my voice laced with sarcasm, "Typical politician lie!"

"It is regrettable that such an esteemed general like himself would go against the wishes of the Hegemony. He has been prosecuted appropriately."

"Lies! Your kind are bureaucrats you can't sneeze unless you have explicitly unanimously declared governmental permission," he stays silent, "He had a weapon capable of cracking a continent! I saved millions! No billions of lives from your kind! And now I have one as my Chief of Security! I will not stand for this!"

"SILENCE!" calls the admiral, "You will have him or you will get court martialed before your first command. A new record if I am not mistaken."

"Yes sir," I mumble as I sit.

"Now about Sh'ress."

"W-what about her?" I ask getting flustered at the mention of her name.

"Do you have an existing or former relationship with her?"

"N-no."

"Good because she's your first officer. Now your mission… cargo transport."

"Wha-" I start before he hands me a PADD.

"Dismissed."

Later at San Francisco spacedock…

* * *

"Welcome aboard sweetheart," I say once Sh'ress, a beautiful Caitian with black fur and a decent feminine build that I met after I saved her from bullying at the academy steps off the transporter.

"You're the captain!" she says as she follows me towards the bridge.

"Yes and you have been placed as my First Officer."

"Don't they know about the Titan issue?"

"Apparently I impressed some higher up and it got me this command."

"Anything else?" she asks suspiciously.

"No," I lie.

"I've dated you for three years I know you inside and out."

"You really do know your way around my outside," I add attempting to defuse the tension.

She gives a warning glare, "Dzieci."

"The Admiral forced me to have a Gorn named Dord as my Chief of Security."

She steps in front of me "You're a Captain why did you allow that!"

"Commander actually. And it was either that or set a record for fastest court martial in naval history."

"Captain on deck!" calls a familiar voice.

Turning to the voice I notice a familiar Skorr, "If it isn't good ol' Tchin. A lieutenant at that!"

"You know her?"

"Yeah she was my bunkmate."

"I do believe that only persons of the same gender may share a dorm."

I look around before whispering, "As far as starfleet was concerned she is a guy."

She turns to Tchin, "Is this true?"

I don't hear her response and instead stand at the Captain's chair, "Comm officer do you have a name?."

"Mün Sir!"

"Open a ship wide channel."

"Open."

"Attention crew of the USS Agnostic Monk, yes that is what I named it. I am your Captain, Commander Dzieci Jeden. Now I do not disapprove of innocent pranks or fun as long as it doesn't interfere too much with ship operations. And relationships are approved as long as you stay professional on duty. And you are not supposed to argue with our science officer Sh'ress," her only response is a glare, "Anyway we are setting course for Titan as soon as all departments report ready status."

A brief moment, "All departments are a go," reports Sh'ress.

"Helm take us out full impulse."

"But sir starfleet regula-" starts my helmsman, a vulcan named Muvoc.

"I don't give a damn about regulations, do it!"

"Yes sir. We are clear of spacedock."

"Sir," starts my Comm officer, an Andorian, "Starfleet wishes to talk to you about breaking regulations."

"Tell them to bugger off. Helm set course for Jupiter."

"I thought we were heading to Titan which, mind you, is a moon of Saturn not Jupiter."

"Well Sh'ress, they are in the same direction."

"Course laid in."

"Engage, warp six."

At Jupiter…

* * *

"We are at Jupiter."

"Well Muvoc, let's buzz the Great Red Spot."

"Captain, the radiation in that area is extremely strong," reports Tchin.

"We have shields don't we?"

"Yes sir."

"Then use them!"

"Course laid in. We are approaching the spot."

"Sir there seem to be some unusual readings from within the atmosphere," reports a confused Tchin

"Can we scan them?"

"They appear to be a new form of crystalline Dilithium with traces of metallic hydrogen."

"Must've been dug up from the core by the storm. Can we get samples?"

"We have to be deeper."

"Can we get within transporter range?"

"Our warp core is about to tear itself apart maintaining the shields!" replies my Chief Engineer

"Every storm has an eye. Can we withstand travelling through the eye?"

"For only a brief time, but yes."

"Good set course."

The sea of red beyond the viewscreen parts into an almost unnatural hole which appears to engulf the ship giving us a clear view all the way down to the sea of metallic hydrogen. At about 10000 km a dark shape is visible sticking out of the eyewall, "What is that?" I ask pointing at the shape.

"Sensors say it's a ship."

"Hail it."

"I am Captain Dzieci Jeden of the Federation starship Agnostic Monk do you require assistance?"

"Finally," hisses a voice, "Someone heard our call. Our ship is a lost cause. We must be transported over before our fission reactor has a meltdown."

"How many?"

"Forty three serpentine, Thirty-seven saurian."

"Utilize all transporters, including the cargo transporters, and start evacuating."

"How's the transporting going?"

"We are bringing in the senior bridge crew now."

Though still being a bit shocked by the large velociraptor-esque alien and twenty foot snake that have just materialized I manage a, "Greetings! I am Captain Dzieci Jeden."

"You're the one who saved my ship?" hisses the snake as he examines me, "You're not the most pleasant thing but I thank you."

"I don't know he looks absolutely cutly adorable," mumbles the apparently female lizard.

"I am Captain Ivpikus and this is my mate Hssiss."

"Nice to meet you. Now how did you manage to get so deep into our star system's biggest planet?"

"It was a malfunction in our experimental transwarp drive. We dropped out right into that storm where we slowly sank. Why are you down here?"

"We were getting samples of metallic hydrogen kicked up by the storm."

"Sir we are within transporter range."

"Energize."

"We can't maintain a lock on them."

"Erect a force field and use a wide area beam," I watch as the pad is filled with gases until a tunk sounds throughout the room, "Do we have it?"

"Yes sir,"

"Vent gases and drop force field."

"The computer is refusing to vent."

"Why?"

"Its saying there are life signs inside the field."

"What could be living this deep in Jupiter's atmosphere?"

"Scans show a multicellular organism. Cellular processes are ran by a mixture of Hydrogen and Helium. By products include Hydrogen Sulfide and the crystals we detected."

"Can we slowly cycle out the clouds with the aforementioned gases?"

"As long as we vent at the same rate we fill we will be good."

"Do it," I watch as the clouds slowly dissipate revealing a grotesque metallic jellyfish.

"What's it made of?"

"It appears to be lead based."

"What about the crystals we were trying to recover?"

"They seem to be waste excreted by the life form."

"Beam the creature to a science lab and send the crystals as they are produced to engineering," I leave for the bridge, "Dzieci to engineering."

"Engineering here."

"Send over a crew to repair the aliens reactor and prepare to tow it into orbit."

"Tractor beam established,"

"Helm leave the atmosphere full impulse," I order as I arrive on the bridge.

"We are achieving orbit."

"Captain," starts Mün, "A nearby science station is hailing us."

"Onscreen."

"This is Jupiter Science Station 77365. What the hell have you just brought out of Jupiter!"

"It's a ship."

"Looks like a giant lump of coral!"

"By the way we found life."

"Do what?"

"We beamed aboard a lifeform when we were taking samples of what appeared to be a new form of Dilithium."

"Let us see this lifeform," a moment passes as the feed is established, "What do you know of this life form?"

"We know that it was found at 10,000km, it is lead based, because of them being lead based more than likely they are immune to radiation, and a new mineral is produced as a byproduct."

"What is this new mineral."

"Sir!" calls Tchin as he rushes into the bridge, "Weranaquicktestanditisnotdilithiumatall butawholenewcompound!"

"Woah, calm down now go again."

"We ran a quick test and it is not Dilithium at all but a whole new compound."

"What does this compound consist of?" asks the station.

"Its formula is an Isomer of Oxalic Anhydride (C2O3) in which an ozone molecule is connected to two Carbons. Those Carbons lock it into a crystal lattice."

"What are the potential uses?"

"It could be used as a more efficient substitute of Dilithium."

"Can you replicate it?" I ask.

"Easily."

"Do it. And send the life form to the station. Now we haven't done much testing but you should probably keep the exact mixture of gases at 10000 km."

"Very well," another moment passes, "We have it."

"Engineering how are the alien repairs doing?"

"Done sir."

"That quick?"

"Their reactor is a primitive twentieth century design. The reason why it malfunctioned is because they are using highly efficient fuels in old designs."

"Are they able to return to their ship?"

"Yes but one wishes to stay."

"Which one?"

"Hssiss."

"Why her?"

"I don't know."

"Mün."

"Yes sir?"

"Contact Starfleet command and send it through to my ready room. Sh'ress call Hssiss up to my ready room."

"What now?" grumbles Admiral Cole.

"Sir we have found something in Jupiter."

"What did you find around Jupiter?"

"Not around, In Jupiter. Or rather the Great Red Spot."

"What the hell are you doing there! You're supposed to be at Titan already!"

"I was just going to buzz it before we picked up strange signals from deeper down."

"This better be good."

"The signals belonged to an alien vessel," sending scans now.

"Interesting, did the aliens stay aboard?"

"They returned to their ship once it was possible. However one did stay behind."

"Report back here with them after you run those supplies."


End file.
